Bombay HC orders refund of tax deposited under cancelled GST registration after chartered accountant's inadvertent filing

Bombay HC allowed petition for refund of tax deposited under cancelled GST registration. Petitioner's chartered accountant inadvertently filed return and deposited Rs. 1,22,220 under cancelled registration, while also filing proper return under valid registration for same amount. HC held tax deposited under invalid registration cannot be retained as it was not lawful deposit. Appellate authority wrongly rejected appeal on technical limitation grounds despite online filing within prescribed period. HC quashed orders dated 8th June 2022 and 27th February 2023, directing refund of Rs. 1,22,220 deposited under erroneous cancelled registration.

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Issues:
The judgment involves a Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging an order rejecting a refund application for tax deposited under a cancelled GST registration number.

Summary:
The Petitioner, a scriptwriter, had two GST registration numbers, one cancelled and one new. The Petitioner's Chartered Accountant mistakenly deposited tax under the cancelled registration number, leading to a refund application rejection. The Assistant Commissioner and the appellate authority rejected the claim based on procedural grounds, stating the appeal was filed beyond the limitation period. The High Court found that the tax deposited under the cancelled registration was not valid and ordered a refund of the amount deposited under the cancelled registration number.

The Court held that the Petitioner was entitled to a refund as the tax deposited under the cancelled registration was not legally valid. The authorities failed to consider that the Petitioner's first registration was cancelled, and the tax return filed under it was void. The appellate authority's hyper-technical view on the limitation period for filing the appeal was deemed incorrect. The Court emphasized that procedural deficiencies should not bar a validly filed appeal within the limitation period. The judgment quashed the previous orders and directed the refund of the tax amount deposited under the cancelled registration number, along with interest, within four weeks.

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